In Flanders, drivers caught smoking in the presence of a child will soon risk a fine that could cost them as much as 1,000 euros, announced the Flemish government last Friday. The CD&V hoped for a federal action. But confronted with procrastination, its ministers in the Flemish government, Joke Schauvliege and Jo Vandeurzen, made the first move.
The action aims at protecting minors until the age of 16. The electronic cigarette is targeted too.
“Smoking in cars causes the air quality to deteriorate within the passenger cell. Smoking while driving liberates carcinogenic substances of a concentrations of 25 times higher than those measured in a home. Opening the window is not enough to get rid of those substances. The smoke presents a risk for everyone, but more particularly for children, who are more sensitive to it. They inhale more rapidly, at a time when their immune system, lungs and respiratory path are developing fast” explained Mrs. Schauvliege.
Last November, the Walloon government took a similar action. The draft decree must yet be submitted to the Parliament.
The Brussels Times
